Everyone Leads

Everyone leads. Everyone sells. Everyone connects. These are three inevitable
and undeniable truths, but we try to dodge them. People deny that they lead in
their everyday lives. People refuse to call the persuading and influencing they
do “selling” or “leading.” In the midst of all this aversion, we also deny the
ways we are connecting with others when we lead and sell.leaderMany people think
of leaders as those with position power and authority. Those aren’t leaders.
Those are managers. Leaders are the people (managers or not) we choose to
follow, the ones who set examples we want to emulate. Leaders are the people
around us, at work and elsewhere, who have an impact on us. Leaders are not
imbued with special gifts or abilities. They are just like you and me. We are
all leaders at times.

You are a leader in your own sphere of influence. Someone is paying attention
to what you do, looking to you for guidance and direction. This is happening
whether you like it or not, whether you planned for it or not, and whether you
realize it or not. We lead when we speak, when we act and when we make
decisions. We lead when we communicate and when we interact with others.

The question is this: when we lead, are we doing it well? If we deny we are
leading, chances are we aren’t doing it well. Being aware of our roles as
leaders increases the likelihood we will be effective. The consciousness of
others looking to us as leaders may, in and of itself, improve our leadership.

When we deny we are leaders, what we’re really denying is our responsibility
to others. Shirking the title, we believe, alleviates our accountability. That’s
why we say things like “that’s not my job” and “it’s not my problem.” Don’t
misunderstand – that’s not to say you have to do it all if you recognize you
are, indeed, a leader. Instead, it means you help get things accomplished by
influencing those who ought to be doing the work or solving the problem. We
enable and encourage them so they want to do their part. You see them as
leaders, too, regardless of status or position.

We all lead. Some, like parents and teachers, lead significant efforts with
profound and clear impact on others. Some, like supervisors, lead as well as
manage (if they’re doing it well!). Some, like janitors and fast food workers,
lead by example and have many opportunities in the course of a workday to make
this brighter for others in seemingly small ways (that add up).

At a minimum, we lead ourselves. We lead ourselves into trouble if we don’t
lead ourselves with inspiration and clarity about where we are going. We lead
ourselves around in circles if we don’t learn from our mistakes and lead
deliberately instead of accidentally. We lead ourselves best when we lead on
purpose AND also submit to the leadership we need, too.

The essence of leading is remaining oriented to others. Being aware they are
watching and relying on you is the first step in gaining that awareness so you
can lead well.